Profile by Patrick Liddy* In the early middle ages a pole draped with red flags was the emblem of the barber-surgeon who was permitted to bleed customers on his premises, the pole itself a token of the wooden rod, which the client held to keep his arm steady. The red rag was changed to a…
QSuper has completed the transition of $800 million in funds of its first “cohort” of default members to an allocation of 80 per cent cash and 20 per cent more aggressive assets. It is now working on communicating with the second cohort, with a total of eight to 12 cohorts to be completed by the…
Australian-grown securities transaction and fund administration software provider GBST Holdings has signed up its first direct US-based client and is looking to significantly grow its international operations. “I would expect that in the next three to five years, revenue from international operations would exceed that of Australian operations,” chief executive officer GBST Capital Markets, Denis…
Comment by Greg Bright There are three big themes playing out this year which can all be blamed on the babyboomers: outcome-orientated investing, smart beta and DIY-style institutional platforms. Forget the MySuper and other regulatory rubbish, this is how it’s going to play out. Russell Investments’ restructure in Australia, announced last week, provides an informative…
Proposed changes to managed-discretionary account (MDA) regulation could open up an opportunity for a forward-thinking provider of custody services to enter the retail custody market. “There is a great business opportunity for one of them [custodians] to step up,” chairman of MDA representative body, the Institute of Managed Account Providers (IMAP), Toby Potter, said. This…
Euromoney, the UK-listed conference and media company, has paid AUD$14.4 million for 75 per cent of Australia’s largest institutional investment conference company, Centre for Investor Education, with the two principals signing up for a three-year minimum earnout. The co-owners, Jamie Nemtsas and Erling Sorensen, appear to have made a handsome profit on the company they…
Providing further evidence of the importance of winning HostPlus as its first industry super fund client, Citi Securities and Fund Services has recruited National Australia Bank’s head of sales and business development for asset servicing, Amy Diab. It is understood her main role will be to oversee the new relationship with HostPlus. Diab will be…
State Street has formed a new division, Global Exchange, which aims to provide clients with easier access to solutions – particularly in data management – and accelerate new product development. Jeff Conway, a 25-year State Street veteran, will head the new organization. Conway, who is a keynote speaker at next week’s IO&C Conference in Shanghai,…
Long-time NSW State Government super fund trustee and former bank economist Cristina Cifuentes is resigning all her board positions to take up a five-year job as full-time commissioner of the federal Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. Her main remaining super position, which she resigned this month, was that of trustee of the AUD$38 billion First…
Northern Trust is expanding its fund administration and custody capabilities to support locally domiciled Hong Kong funds, including ETFs, and other regional investment funds. Northern will provide global sub-custody and fund admin, including accounting and shareholder services, for asset managers wanting to expand their product base in the region. Camie West, Northern’s head of global…
